Print Seminar 1 - At the printers

Here are the notes I took from Lorenzo's print seminar on 27/09/2011.

At the printers

Commercial processes
   - rotary printing
   - digital
   - screen
   - pad

Rotary
   - plates wrapped around a cylindar that rotates
   - off lithography (litho) - planographic
        - etched aluminium plates on a cylinder transfer ink to an 'offset' rubber blanket roller and then to print surface
   - rotogravure (gravure) - intaglio
        - copper plates (with mirror image) transfer ink directly to print surface, usually rolls. Advantage, plates are more durable and so are good for long print runs.
   - flexography (flexo) - relif 
        - a positive, mirror image rubber polymer plate, on a cylinder, transfer ink directly to print surface. Usually roll feed.


Digital Printing
   - rip - software that gets from screen to print
   - raster image processor

Screen printing

Pad Printing
   - more 3D printing
   - new technique


I found this seminar really interesting finding out the different ways things are printed, and how a lot aren't what you'd expect. My plan now is to go away and start to research in more detail about each of the printing processes to then be able to get cracking with the 'What is design for print?' brief.